Top 10 Television Shows 2017 (April-June)

Friday, July 28, 2017

I also have not quite finished two of the shows on the list, so that might be reflected in a year end adjustment (Veep/Fargo)

1. Better Call Saul (AMC)

2. Veep (HBO)

3. Fargo (FX)

4. The Americans (FX)

5. Sneaky Pete (Amazon)

6. Last Man on Earth (Fox)

7. Dear White People (Netflix)

8. Silicon Valley (HBO)

9. Billions (Show)

10. Review (Comedy C)

Here's the thing - outside of Better Call Saul, which was the qualitiative equivalent of last season, all of the premium shows slipped. Veep, as I mentioned in 2016, clearly suffered a decline after the departure of its creator/showrunner, and you see that slide continue here, it's high placement demonstrative of how much better than the sitcom field it had been. Fargo was great in season two, and not nearly as gripping in season three. The Americans had its worst season to date, running in place throughout. Those shows, however, are of a different caliber than the remaining field - Sneaky Pete, like Billions, was more fun than art. Last Man on Earth really shows its strength when its not a comedy. Dear White People was a good film turned into an equally good show; Silicon maybe had its worst season, and the list also includes the last 4 episodes of Review.

2 comments

I have, or rather, I stopped a portion of the way through. That's more my weakness than the show's, similar to say, the Leftovers first season, my willingness to work through genre at this point is really low. It was smart, I'm on its side politically, I thought Elisabeth Moss was super, and it was just more than I could do given the universe of available (easier) options. Not a choice a younger (less exhausted) version of me would have made.